Updating Back and Side Yard

D4rkrpincess
by D4rkrpincess
5 Materials
$835
3 Days
Medium

I wasn't really too concerned at first about fixing up our yard since... well, we are in the country after all. But after two puppies and a crazy rainy season in California... I definitely changed my mind. I wanted a grassy area in the back and side of the house so that when the dogs come in from the rain, their muddy paws would have a chance to be wiped off. And our mostly dirt road was really muddy during the rain! So we decided to gravel it up.

So this was the house after we got it (mostly) painted. As you can see there isn't much to the yard... except weeds and dirt.


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We purchased about 1600 sq ft of sod from Craigslist from 2 different sellers for about $280 total. While laying down grass, we also made space on the side of the house for a flower be of some sort. Bought lawn edging from Home Depot and installed it.


P.S - Hubby used the tractor to churn up the soil so the sod can be put down. It just helps level the ground a bit more.

Next, we borrowed a trailer and purchased 22 tons of gravel for about $500. Fortunately we live about 5 minutes away from a gravel company. We spread it out evenly where we wanted the cars to park.

To separate the gravel from the grass, we got old railroad ties, left behind by the previous owner and used them as a separator.

This cutie was anything but helpful! Love her to death though icon

For the flowers in the yard, we found daffodils -- near the front of the house growing like crazy. So instead of spending tons of money on plants, we decided to use these instead.

We also got black mulch to cover the rest of the area! These plants were really hard to put in as our soil is very clay-y and I had to dig the clay out and put in better dirt for the plants.

And this is the result of the project! Its not fancy, but it works -- for now. My hubby went after Christmas and got the solar candy cane lights for 10 cents on clearance... I'll work on painting that someday, but not today icon

After a couple more weeks of crazy rain, the daffodils managed to bloom! They are pretty for something we got for free!


Here is the approx. breakdown:

Sod - $280

Gravel - $500

Black Mulch - $30 for about 10 bags

Lawn Edging - $25 for about 60 ft of lawn edging

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  • Sissy Sissy on Aug 13, 2021

    love the house and yes no matter what houses are work . I love what you did and driveways are a pain to do .Mine was up a hill gravel washed away so had to put down blacktop . Are you planning on planting some trees in the future , I can see that was farmland at 1 point like mine was Doggie says I was not hired to work only to love you

  • Msl33921058 Msl33921058 on Aug 12, 2022

    Straight gravel strips all around the house? All that pretty gravel could have made some beautiful kidney-shaped or whatever flower/bed beds in the yard where you can see them. Istn watering plants against the foundation, ultimately damaging to it?

  • Suzanne L Suzanne L on Aug 12, 2022

    you got and incredible deal on supplies. we just paid $1200 for 19.5 ton of gravel

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  • Eve Eve on Aug 22, 2022

    Nice project !! My ? Is what did you do to the space before you put the gravel down to keep weeds from growing thru. It looks like it’s been graded. Thank you .

    Eve

  • Carol Harris Carol Harris on Aug 11, 2023

    looks wonderful, I love your dog, also very beautiful

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